


Trying On Rings

by BleedingInk



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:42:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26836897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BleedingInk/pseuds/BleedingInk
Summary: Castiel has something in his mind.
Relationships: Castiel/Meg Masters
Comments: 11
Kudos: 33





	Trying On Rings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LilyAnson](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilyAnson/gifts).



> This was written for my friend Lori's birthday. Happy birthday!

Meg and Jack were in the kitchen, making themselves some food. Neither of them needed food, but they liked eating it. Castiel didn’t know what they were making, exactly, as he was watching them from the library, but he could hear them whispering and laughing as they busied themselves around the counter. Meg’s dark blonde hair fell and swayed behind her back as she moved and Jack made sure to move around the furniture so she could maneuver her wheelchair with ease.

It was… peaceful. In a way, that was exactly the thing he’d feared months ago, but now he could sit there and enjoy the sight of his family cooking together and not fear that this one moment of respite would take him away from them.

Sam stalked into the library and set his books down in front of him.

“Hey, Cas,” he muttered distractedly as he opened them and started pouring over them.

Castiel didn’t meant to interrupt his studies, of course, but when it came to what he had been thinking off, he knew there was no one better than the brothers to talk about it.

“What would be an appropriate engagement gift?” Castiel asked.

Sam lifted his eyes from his books.

“What do you mean?”

“I know a ring is traditional, but I was thinking maybe there is some alternative I’m not aware of.”

“Well, you don’t gift someone a ring for an engagement unless you yourself are getting engaged to them, Cas,” Sam said, with a half chuckled that irritated the angel a bit. Yes, he sometimes was clueless about human uses and customs, but he wasn’t completely ignorant.

“Farm animals are another option, but I think that is rather antiquated.”

Sam’s smile slowly faded and his eyebrows shot up.

“Oh, you mean… for… for Meg?”

“Yes,” Castiel replied. “I think she is rather fond of goats…”

“You’re proposing to Meg?”

“Yes,” Castiel repeated, getting more annoyed now that Sam wasn’t be as useful to this conversation as he thought. “Why is this surprising?”

Sam realized he had his jaw open and was kind enough to close it.

“No reason,” he said. “I mean, I know she is very important to you, but given that you are… not human, I didn’t think it would be important to you to follow human traditions. Such as, you know. Proposals. And marriage.”

That was a very valid concern, in fact.

“Yes, perhaps Meg will be of the same opinion as you,” Castiel admitted. “But given everything we have gone through, Chuck, the Empty… I have come to understand the importance of marking certain milestones in the appropriate ways. It wouldn’t be any sort of legal agreement, just a celebration of our relationship. If Meg agrees, of course.”

“Right, of course.” Sam nodded. “That is actually a very nice thought, Cas.”

“I’m glad you think so.” Castiel tilted his head. “Perhaps a goat is too much hassle. Maybe an alpaca…”

“Actually, I think your first instinct was right,” Sam interrupted him. “Just give her a ring. I’m sure she would like that.”

Castiel smiled and was about to thank Sam, but Meg and Jack turned around and headed their way.

“Hey, there, Clarence,” Meg said, moving her chair closer to him to leave a peck on his cheek.

“We made cookies!” Jack announced, putting the platter on the table. They were still steaming hot, but he seemed very proud of himself at having accomplished it. “They have chocolate chips.”

“Oh, that’s great!” Sam congratulated him.

“Try some!” Jack insisted, pushing the platter towards him.

“Yeah, Sam, tell us what you think,” Meg added. “You too, baby.”

Her eagerness should have been the thing that gave away that something was wrong with the cookies, but Castiel was still feeling so warm and happy about the decision he had made and the fact he could spend time with them, he really didn’t think about it much as he bit into it. As always, it took a moment for his tongue to adjust to the taste of molecules so he could appreciate the whole instead of the individual parts, but when it hit him, he realized there was something strange about those cookies.

They weren’t sweet at all. In fact…

Sam started coughing and his cheeks became bright red.

“What…?” he mumbled and coughed some more as beads of sweat appeared in his forehead. “What did you put in these cookies?”

“Oh, you know, the usual,” Meg said. “Flour, butter, milk, chips…”

“And chili powder!” Jack added, with a grin.

Sam’s coughing became louder and in a second he was on his feet, fleeing in the kitchen’s direction while both Jack and Meg burst into laughter.

“Told you it’d be fun!” Meg said, offering her fist to Jack for him to bump. “Did you see his face?”

Castiel frowned at the both of them.

“What just happened?”

“Nothing,” Jack replied, opening his eyes wide so his face would look more innocent than usual.

“Just a little prank between friends, that’s all,” Meg said.

“Ah.” Castiel still didn’t quite get what the fun part of the prank was supposed to be, but he chuckled nonetheless.

“What’s so funny?” Dean asked as he swaggered into the library. “Oh, cookies!”

* * *

Castiel wasn’t sure Meg would like any of the rings the jeweler was showing to him. They were very… dainty and delicate, with small stones and elegant shapes. None of those things reminded him of Meg.

“I think I’m looking for something… sturdier. Bigger,” he explained. “Something that could hurt someone if she were to punch them with it.”

The jeweler stared at him with clear confusion in his expression.

“Sir, I don’t know any woman who would get in a fight with her engagement ring on.”

“Meg isn’t a woman,” Jack interjected.

“She isn’t… a conventional woman,” Castiel corrected quickly when the jeweler frowned at them. “Do you have something like what I’m seeking for?”

The jeweler eyed them both and then shrugged.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

He turned his back towards them and stalked to another part of the store. Jack kept looking at the rings, silently, picking them up and holding them to the light. Castiel thought he was entranced by the way they shone, until he commented:

“It’s a bit strange.”

“Is there something off about the diamond?” Castiel asked.

“I’m not talking about that,” Jack replied, putting the jewelry box back on the counter. “I’m talking about why you decided to do this. I mean, I know Meg and you are… together. Isn’t that… enough?”

It was essentially the same question Sam had asked him, but it seemed to come from a different place. Castiel analyzed his face closely, trying to guess why he would be upset about this. If that was how he felt.

“I am very lucky to have Meg by my side once again,” he explained. “This is just another way for me to express that to her.”

Jack made a non-committal sound. He re-arranged the boxes, but Castiel had the impression he was just looking for something to do with his hands.

“Is there a problem, Jack? I thought you liked Meg.”

“I do!” Jack said, a little too fast and a little too loud. People shopping around turned towards them but they quickly turned back to their businesses as Jack lowered his voice again. “I really do like Meg and I like that you’re with her. But this just feels… like a lot.”

“What do you mean?”

Jack stopped fidgeting with the boxes and looked up at him.

“Like you want her to be part of our family.”

Castiel reflected upon this. He hadn’t really thought about it that way, but Jack was right, in a way. The two of them, plus Sam and Dean, had been a family for the longest time. It made sense for Meg to be invited to be a part of that, even if it was cheesy and unnecessary.

“Would that be so bad?”

“No, of course not. It would be great,” Jack stated. He took a deep breath. “I just… would I have to…?” He choked on his words. Castiel waited patiently for him to continue. “Would I have to… treat her like she was… my mother?”

“Ah.” Castiel tapped on the counter with his fingers as he searched for the words to best express what he thought of that to Jack. “I think the way you and Meg treat each other right now works for the both of you and I don’t see why that has to change. And Jack—” Castiel stepped closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder, “—no one can replace your mom in your heart and that’s okay. It’s also okay if you grow to love Meg. Your love for her doesn’t have to betray your love for Kelly.”

Jack reflected upon this for a moment and then nodded. Castiel pulled him in for a hug. He had been told he missed cues to do things like that sometimes, but it felt appropriate at that time.

Someone cleared their throat behind them. They broke away to see the jeweler that was helping them, quickly wiping his eyes with handkerchief.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” he said, his voice a little ruff. “I see so many families torn for trying to find a ring and I think it’s great that you’ve involved your son in this process.”

“Yes. Thank you,” Castiel said, awkwardly.

The jeweler put a box over the counter.

“I think this will be a little more like what you’re looking for,” he said as he opened it to display the ring for Castiel.

It was much bigger than the ones he’d seen before, squared and with hard, sharp edges.

It was perfect.

“We’ll take it.”

* * *

On Sam’s advice, Castiel decided to keep the proposal itself quite simple. He packed a basket with some of Meg’s favorite things, including food and some beer and guided her into the woods that surrounded the Men of Letters bunker.

“Are you enjoying this?” he asked as he pushed her chair over the leaf-covered ground.

“You know I don’t need romantic shit like dates and whatnot,” Meg replied with a shrug. “We could have brought the kid, too.”

“I just wanted to spend some time alone with you.”

“Don’t we do that every night?”

She was, technically, correct, but the time they spent together while Sam, Dean and Jack slumbered was… occupied by other activities. And as pleasurable as that was, Castiel did want this to be a bit more elaborate. He found a place underneath a tree with golden and brown leaves and extended the blanket underneath. Meg got off her chair and sat down over it while Castiel opened the basket and extracted two bottles of beer. He’d debated getting champagne and putting the ring inside the flute, since he’d seen something like that happen in a movie, but he realized Meg would suspect something was up before he had the chance to ask the question. And besides, the ring was too big to be concealed that way.

Meg drank her beer and stared at the horizon, at the sun sinking away, at the golden and red overtones of the sky. She snuggled closer to Castiel and he placed an arm around her back, pulling her in.

“This is nice, though,” she admitted. “After all the bullshit of last year, it’s nice that we get to sit around and spend time like this without worrying about a black hole opening up and swallowing you whole.”

“That is a very bleak thought to bring up at this time.”

“Oh, you know what I mean.” Meg put her beer down and grabbed him by the chin to get him to look at her. “I’m happy you’re alive, that’s all.”

Coming from her, that might as well have been a full on love declaration. Castiel put a hand on her cheek and kissed her, soft and sweetly, but broke away before she could deepen the kiss and they would get… distracted.

“I’m happy you’re alive too,” he said. “I hope we get to enjoy many days like this one in the future.”

“And many nights, I bet,” Meg said, walking her fingers up his arm. Castiel caught her hand and left a kiss on her knuckles, staring at her until Meg moved away, flustered. “Feathers, you keep looking at me like that I’m gonna start thinking you’re ready to pop the question.”

“Well…”

“What?”

Castiel moved away from her, just enough so that he could kneel. Meg was still eye to eye with him, her mouth hanging open in shock as he rummaged through his pocket and took out the jewelry box.

“I know what you’re going to say,” Castiel started. “That all of these human rituals are ridiculous and unimportant. That what you and I have cannot be defined with simple words such as ‘boyfriend’ or ‘girlfriend’ or… ‘wife’.” He wasn’t sure why, but he got a little dizzy at that last one. A smile spread across his face. “But I wanted to have this gesture towards you. To tell you that I want to spend the rest of our hopefully long lives together.”

Meg covered her mouth with her hands and then her eyes. Castiel frowned. He wasn’t expecting that reaction. He could count the times he’d seen Meg cry with the fingers of one hand, so this was… unexpected.

“Meg?”

Meg threw her head back and laughed, long and hard.

“I was just joking!” she said.

“I’m not,” Castiel replied. He was baffled by her reaction and a part of him was starting to fear perhaps Sam had been right and this was just an unnecessary and not very intelligent question to ask. “Meg, I…”

“Oh, sweet hell, look at the size of that thing!” she exclaimed as she looked down at the ring. She picked it up and immediately slid it over her finger. “How did you even pay for it?”

“One of Dean’s counterfeit credit cards,” Castiel admitted. He immediately regretted revealing that, because… didn’t that cheapen the moment a little? “I…”

Meg grabbed him by the coat and pulled him in. Her mouth crashed against him awkwardly as she dragged him down to the blanket on top of her, their bodies collapsing together in a mess of clothes and limbs.

So that was very nice, but Castiel still felt compelled to pull himself up and look at her in the eye.

“So… does this mean your answer…?”

“Yes, you dumb angel,” Meg said, laughing again. “Of course it’s yes.”

Castiel didn’t know it was possible for him to feel this happy. Like his heart had swollen in his chest and everything had fallen into place.

Since they had defeated their last enemies, Castiel had had a hard time believing that everything was right in the world after all. But he had no trouble with it as he kissed Meg again under that beautiful sunset.

* * *

They kept laughing as they got back to the bunker. Castiel wasn’t even sure why. Just because they were happy. Just because they could.

Dean walked across them with a beer in his hand.

“What’s up with you two?” he asked, frowning as if he’d never seen two people just… being happy.

Castiel raised Meg’s hand that he was holding to show Dean the ring.

“She said yes,” he announced.

“Woah,” Dean exclaimed, crooking an eyebrow. “That’s… that’s big. Like, tacky big.”

“Hey, shut up,” Meg warned him. “I could do some real damage if I were to punch you with this thing.”

“No doubt,” Dean said. He took a swig of his beer. “I guess congratulations are in order.”

“You better believe it.” Meg grinned at him. “Where’s the moose? I wanna show it to him.”

“Shooting range with Jack,” Dean indicated him.

Meg pulled from Castiel’s coat, so he leaned over and gave her a kiss before she wheeled past Dean, who moved to sit at one of the library’s chairs.

“You know, when Sam said you were planning to propose, I thought he was kidding!”

He looked uncomfortable, for some reason. Castiel pulled a chair and sat across from him.

“I asked you for your credit card.”

“Yes, you did. I didn’t know it was to pay for that monstrosity, though,” Dean pointed out. He kept drinking his beer, like he didn’t know what else to do with himself.

Castiel didn’t really blame him for his lukewarm reaction. He was expecting it, in fact.

“Dean, can I speak frankly to you?”

“Sure, Cas, you can tell me anything.”

“Meg and I will eventually have a small wedding ceremony,” he said. “I’m planning on asking Sam to take on the role of my best man.”

“Oh.” Dean looked away. He tried to hide how hurt his words had made him, but even Castiel could tell he wasn’t happy about it. “Sure. I mean, it’s your day, you can do whatever you want…”

“And I was hoping you would officiate it.”

Dean froze with the beer halfway to his mouth.

“Come again?”

“I know you and Meg don’t have the closest of relationships and you only tolerate her presence here for my sake. You have both hurt people the other loved.”

“Hey, if you’re gonna start again with the thing about me killing her dad, need I remind you he killed my mom first and…?”

“Perhaps it’s too much to hope for that you would ever be more than just cordial to one another,” Castiel continued, ignoring Dean’s interjection. “You don’t have Sam’s forgiving disposition and that’s alright. But when she joins our family, I want to count with your… approval. Your… blessing. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Dean gazed at him, unblinking, for several seconds.

“I… I guess I get it,” he said in the end. “Yeah. That’s okay.”

“So you’ll do it?”

After a few more seconds, Dean finally cracked a smile and Castiel knew, with relief, that it really was okay.

“Sure, why not?” he said. “Can I dress up like Elvis?”

“I think I would have to consult that with Meg.”

“Right, of course. Wouldn’t want to upset the missus.” Dean chuckled. “Hey, go get you a beer. I think this calls for toast.”


End file.
